Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Shock Jock

BBC Radio Edinburgh rings wanting me to take part in a debate on whether Scotland should have a nuclear deterrent. My reaction is to laugh out loud and tell them the whole idea is a joke. Suddenly they don’t want me on their programme any more. Which proves the Scotch take themselves too seriously and couldn’t survive independence, with or without their own nukes.
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It is not reasonable to assume millionaires need tax relief to turn them into “philanthropists”. If they want their knighthoods and public recognition, they should give their money away through genuine generosity and not because the Government turns it into another tax dodge.
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Why on earth would anyone invest in Facebook? It’s just a fading fad which has already had its day. Yet it’s about to be sold off for an astonishing $64 billion in one of the biggest con-tricks in history.
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The Tories are languishing in the polls as David Cameron struts the globe enjoying photo opps. I wouldn’t want to be a Conservative or Lib Dem councillor facing re-election next month. Labour candidates are lucky they can pretend Ed Miliband is nothing to do with them.
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At a time when this country is broke, why is George Osborne planning to bung another £10 billion to the dead-and-dying Eurozone via the IMF? Talk about money down the drain.
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Are mini-earthquakes a price worth paying for cheap gas? Probably the answer is yes – unless it’s your house that collapses.
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Should we demand that the candidates for Mayor of Birmingham – assuming there are any – must disclose their tax affairs? And, if so, should they also publish their spouse’s – because that’s how slimy hypocrite Ken Livingstone has avoided telling us the truth about how he minimises his tax bill? Meanwhile, Warwick University says there’s no point in elected city mayors. Will Brummies please take note?
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Should we really ban bank holidays to boost the economy? Certainly not – we all need the opportunity to spend hours in traffic and be ripped off at over-priced tourist attractions.
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If you want proof that high taxes lead to a cut in revenue look at the figures for smuggling alcohol, fags and petrol. The Government’s lost out on £30 billion of revenue because it’s trying to rip off the taxpayer. And I’m on the side of the smugglers.
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Amazing – the HS2 line won’t be built for years (if at all) but the gravy train has already left the station with 215 people on it and another 100 clambering aboard by the summer. All at our expense, of course, and all employed to make sure we don’t try and derail the whole wasteful scheme.
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The MI5 “body in the bag” inquest will be partly held in secret while the Government presses ahead with plans to impose more law behind closed doors. This is what happens in dictatorships.